Americans wasted $2.1 billion on premium fuels last year, AAA says

Originally published January 3, 2017 at 3:15 pm

16.5 million needlessly use high octane.

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By Autos staff

According to new AAA research, American drivers wasted more than $2.1 billion dollars last year by using premium-grade gasoline in vehicles designed to run on regular fuel. With 16.5 million U.S. drivers having used premium fuel despite the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendation, AAA conducted a comprehensive fuel evaluation to determine what, if any, benefit the practice offers to consumers. After using industry-standard test protocols designed to evaluate vehicle performance, fuel economy and emissions, AAA found no benefit to using premium gasoline in a vehicle that only requires regular-grade fuel.
More details:

• Seventy percent of U.S. drivers currently own a vehicle that requires regular gasoline, while 16 percent drive vehicles that require premium fuel. The remaining 14 percent own a vehicle that requires mid-grade gasoline (10 percent) or uses an alternative energy source (4 percent).

• In the last 12 months, 16.5 million U.S. drivers unnecessarily used premium-grade gasoline in their vehicle at least once. On average, those that upgraded to premium gasoline did so at least once per month.

• In the last 12 months, U.S. drivers unnecessarily used premium gasoline in their vehicle more than 270 million times.

A research manager with AAA said drivers should select a higher grade or top tier fuel rater than a higher octane.